


i kissed him

by xogray



Series: percabeth oneshots [4]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Annabeth's pov, Book 4: The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson), F/M, First Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:33:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25395433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xogray/pseuds/xogray
Summary: i kissed him,was the first thing she thought. annabeth ran her fingers over her lips, her heart aching. she wanted to smile at the fact that she had finally kissed him, but she couldn't knowing there was a good chance he wasn't safe yet. she forced herself to relax.he'll be fine. he has a plan.just as her breathing evened out, the tunnel shook and annabeth heard the distant sound of an explosion.- or the one in which annabeth thinks percy dies
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Series: percabeth oneshots [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1839274
Comments: 1
Kudos: 94





	i kissed him

**Author's Note:**

> originally posted 7/19/20  
> edited 9/23/20  
> -i made the story third person and added/changed some sentences

"put your cap back," percy told her. "get out!"

"what?" annabeth yelled. "no, i'm not leaving you!"

"i've got a plan. use the metal spider and get back to hephaestus. it's the only option!"

"you'll be killed!" she said, her heart beating wildly.

"we have no choice!" he said. and annabeth knew he was right. she looked at him, taking in everything about him. his hair was stuck to his head with sweat, his green eyes were wild with adrenaline. she knew there was a chance this was it. in a split second, annabeth found the nerve to lean forward and kiss him. when she pulled back, he looked at her with wide eyes.

"be careful, seaweed brain," was all she said before putting her cap on. annabeth ran off the platform they were on, looking for the entrance back into the labyrinth. she saw a tunnel and figured it was her best option. behind her, annabeth could hear percy fighting off the telkhines he told her about. she stopped at the entrance of the tunnel, looking back, hoping to get one last glimpse of him but he was out of her sight. annabeth sighed, turning and taking off down the tunnel. after a few minutes of running, she stopped, sitting down to breathe.

 _i kissed him,_ was the first thing she thought. annabeth ran her fingers over her lips, her heart aching. she wanted to smile at the fact that she had finally kissed him, but she couldn't knowing there was a good chance he wasn't safe yet. annabeth forced herself to relax. _he'll be fine. he has a plan._

she reached into her pocket, taking out the small metal disc that would turn into hephaestus's small metal spider once she pressed it. just as her breathing evened out, the tunnel shook and annabeth heard the distant sound of an explosion. she sat up instantly and her stomach dropped. she felt sick all of a sudden.

"no," she whispered. the aching in her heart grew. deep down, annabeth had the feeling that the explosion she had just heard was the volcano where percy was. no, it wasn't just a feeling. she _knew._ she slouched back down and tilted her head back against the wall, biting her lip hard to stop herself from crying. it didn't work though. tears slid down her cheeks as annabeth stared at the ceiling. 

_i kissed him,_ she thought again. _i kissed him and now he's dead._

annabeth forced herself to take heavy breaths, not realizing she had begun to hyperventilate. eventually, she got her breathing under control. she stood, feeling completely numb. annabeth took a deep breath and blinked back more tears she could feel coming. _maybe it wasn't him,_ she thought. she knew it was but she so desperately wanted to say it wasn't. _he had a plan. maybe he's safe._

she had no choice but to believe that. annabeth looked at the metal disc in her hand, taking another deep breath before pushing the top of the disc with her thumb. she quickly dropped it in disgust as eight little legs sprung out from the disc. it began running down the hall, almost too quickly for her to keep up with. annabeth felt like she had been running for an hour straight when the spider eventually came to the metal door of hephaestus's forge. she stopped, putting her hand on the wall and leaning forward, taking heavy breaths. she looked down at the spider banging its head against the door. 

"i'd squish you if you weren't metal," she said quietly. it took her a while, but eventually, annabeth caught her breath. she stood up straight and turned the heavy wheel on the metal door. hephaestus was sat at a workbench, fiddling with metal scraps. he looked down at the spider crawling it's way up his chair, then his leg.

"telkhines," she said. "there was an army of them making weapons. a lot of younger ones too, learning how to make weapons. they're working for kronos." he looked at her as she spoke, a grimace appearing on his face.

"i knew it," he said, more to himself than annabeth. he stayed silent for a while, thinking to himself, leaving her standing there awkwardly. eventually he looked back at annabeth, then glanced at the open door behind her. "where are the others?" he asked.

she furrowed her eyebrows, not expecting him to ask about anything other than his forge. "um, grover and tyson went down a different tunnel. grover is looking for pan and he thinks a tunnel we passed will lead him there. percy..." annabeth's voice died in her throat. she blinked back tears. "he stayed back to fight the telkhines. i... i heard an explosion once i was out. do you... do you think..." she couldn't say it.

hephaestus look at her, maybe sympathetically and a little uncomfortably, the flames in his beard flickering. "do i think it was mount st. helens that exploded? yes. do i think percy is alive? it's hard to say but... i wouldn't get your hopes up."

annabeth nodded silently, forcing herself to hold back her tears again for just a little bit longer. "do you think you could, uh, find a way to get me back to camp? preferably not via spider?"

-

she followed the small metal mouse hephaestus sent with her to lead her back to camp. after what felt like hours, it stopped at a dead end. annabeth frowned before understanding what that meant. she slid her hand along the way until her fingertips came across the symbol of daedalus on the wall. it lit up blue, the ceiling opening up above her. ladder rings came out of the wall. annabeth took a breath before climbing up them into the familiar forest of camp. 

"annabeth?" she heard. she looked up to find juniper standing next to a tree. she came over and helped annabeth sit down on a rock before looking back at the entrance of the labyrinth. "where's.. where's grover?" she said quietly.

"we were going somewhere for hephaestus when he passed a tunnel. grover was sure it would lead him to pan. him and tyson went that way while percy and i stayed on route to where we needed to go."

she nodded silently. "so... where's percy?" she asked. annabeth stayed silent, her eyes dropping to the ground. "oh," juniper whispered. "annabeth, i'm so so-"

"it's okay," she told her. "we got seperated. he might be okay, i just don't know where he is." annabeth cleared her throat before standing. "i need to go find chiron," she said. she gave juniper a small hug before turning and making her way to the big house.

-

"he may still be alive, annabeth," chiron said. annabeth had explained what had happened to him and that was the first thing he said in response. 

"i know," she whispered. "i'm just worried. but um, hephaestus told me about daedalus, before he sent me back to camp. he wasn't super helpful though. he said daedalus tends care only about himself and will do anything to save his own skin. and he said percy knew the best way to find him. but... clearly that doesn't help us now."

chiron nodded, deep in thought. "perhaps we just have to be patient. i believe percy will come back to us."

annabeth forced herself to believe him too. 

"go get some rest dear," chiron said. annabeth nodded, getting up and leaving. she began walking towards the cabins and hesitated before going into the athena cabin. she looked over at cabin number three. annabeth walked over to it, pushing the door open and getting hit with the scent of saltwater. it instantly made her tear up, the sick feeling returning to her stomach. she walked in, closing the door behind her. annabeth sat on percy's bed, letting herself cry again.

she placed her head in her hands, her body shaking with silent sobs. 

_please, please, please,_ she prayed. _please be okay. please be alive. please come back to me._

-

it had been one week since she returned to camp. one week since annabeth had seen percy. every morning and every night, she prayed to the gods that he would turn up. occasionally she would find herself sitting on his bed, crying again. her mind would replay the last moments they were together, her fingers coming up to run over her lips. 

annabeth went along with her days as normally as she could, trying hard to ignore the pity stares she would get from people. everybody kept their distance from her, afraid they would set her off. annabeth continuously asked chiron if he had heard anything from the gods or just... from anyone about percy. the answer was always no.

-

"annabeth," chiron said softly. "it's time."

she nodded numbly. her cheeks were streaked with dried tears and her eyes were puffy. everyone was piled into the amphitheater, quiet as they saw her and chiron enter. annabeth sat on the first bench, next to the green silk burial cloth. she picked it up, placing it her lap, looking at it sadly. chiron cleared his throat, looking at everyone.

"good evening, campers," he said. "it has been two weeks since annabeth has returned from the labyrinth. which also means it has been two weeks since we have last heard from your fellow camper, percy jackson. it... it is hard to admit but we can likely assume he is dead."

annabeth's breath hitched and another tear fell down her cheek. she still didn't want to admit it but she knew he was right.

"after so long a silence," chiron continued. "it is unlikely our prayers will be answered. i have asked his best surviving friend to do the finals honors."

she stood up, walking forward with percy's shroud in her arms. annabeth let one her tear slide down her cheek before placing it in the flames. she turned around, facing the crowd. the sympathy and sorrow in everyone's eyes made her want to turn away and run.

her voice was thick as she said, "he was the bravest friend i've ever had. he..." annabeth's breath caught in her throat as her eyes landed on a figure at the entrance of the ampitheater. it was percy. "he's right there!"

heads turned toward him, gasps heard from the entire crowd. people herded around him as annabeth stood there for a moment, trying to understand that she had actually seen him and it wasn't a hallucination. she had come back to her senses as she heard chiron speak. a ball of anger began forming in her chest as annabeth pushed through the crowd. 

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" she yelled. he looked scared for a second, possibly thinking she was going to actually kill him. and she briefly considered doing that. but instead, annabeth flung her arms around his torso tightly, probably affecting his ability to breathe. the crowd fell silent and she quickly pushed him back. her cheeks flushed as everyone watched them. "i- we thought you were dead, seaweed brain!"

"i'm sorry," he said stupidly. "i got lost."

gods, she was going to murder him. "LOST? two weeks, percy? where in the world-"

"annabeth," chiron interrupted. "perhaps we should finish this conversation somewhere else."

-

annabeth could tell percy was lying. or at least omitting the full truth. he told her and chiron that he had been marooned on an island after the explosion and hephaestus found him and talked to him, then a magic raft took him back to camp. his voice had gotten quieter and he wouldn't meet her eyes when he talked about the island. she studied him trying to understand what he could be lying about when it clicked.

he wasn't alone. annabeth shifted as an unwanted feeling of jealously crept into her throat. mulling over his words about the island and a magic raft, she had the unsettling feeling he likely met calypso. which was fine. it didn't bother her. why would it?

"you've been gone two weeks," annabeth said. she tried to steady her voice. "when i heard the explosion, i thought..."

"i know, im sorry," he said. "i know how to get through the labyrinth now though. hephaestus told me. kinda." annabeth could see him hesitate before continuing. "we need a mortal who can see through the mist. and i have a... friend, rachel, who can see through the mist even better than i can..."

annabeth's jaw dropped. "are you crazy?" she asked. _rachel?_ she stood up, irritated. not only at percy for suggesting it but at herself too. she hated that the jealousy she had previously felt grew stronger when he mentioned rachel. and she wasn't stupid. she knew why she was jealous. had it been a few months ago, she would've denied it relentlessly, but she couldn't now. her feelings for him were becoming so strong and the fact that he'd just spent two weeks with calypso and now wanted to bring up rachel? annabeth wasn't having it.

chiron explained that this wouldn't be the first time a mortal has been used to see through the mist and she only got more frustrated. "but this is my quest! i'm supposed to lead it! this is cowardly. it's-"

"hard to admit we need a mortal's help," percy said, cutting her off. "but it's true."

she glared at him, anger and jealousy taking over. "you are the single most annoying person i have ever met."

annabeth turned and left the room, stomping down the stairs of the big house and walking towards the canoe lake. when she arrived, she sat at the end of the dock, trying to gather her thoughts. she don't know how long she sat there, maybe half an hour, when she heard footsteps behind her. annabeth didn't look up until someone sat next to her. 

"annabeth," percy said. "i... i'm sorry. about everything. getting lost. making mount st. helens explode in the first place. and... rachel."

she sighed. by now, she wasn't angry anymore. "it's okay. it was stupid of me to get upset over her anyways. i know she'll be able to help." he stayed silent for a minute.

"you kissed me," he whispered. she felt her cheeks heat up. she hadn't expected him to bring it up. it made her wonder if he had been thinking about it often. was he thinking about it anytime he saw calypso? 

"yeah... i did. and then fifteen minutes later, i thought you were dead..." she trailed off. "not exactly how i imagined my first kiss going," annabeth muttered under her breath, more to herself than to him.

she saw percy look at her out of the corner of her eye. "first?"

she looked at him and punched his shoulder, her cheeks likely bright red. "yes. idiot."

percy nodded slowly. "oh. me too," he whispered.

annabeth's eyes dropped to the water below them as she forced herself to push down the smug feeling she felt. it didn't occur to her that he might not have ever kissed anyone else. she then wondered if he'd kissed calypso and that was enough to lose the smug feeling.

"argus is going to take us into manhattan tomorrow," he said, changing the subject. annabeth looked back up at him to see that his cheeks were also pretty red. "if it's okay with you, i want to stop by my mom's."

she nodded. "of course, yeah," she said. "we should, uh, probably get some sleep." 

"yeah," he said, standing up. he offered his hand and annabeth reached up, taking it. he pulled her up and before she could stop herself, she hugged him. he quickly wrapped his arms around her in response. 

"thanks for not being dead," she said and he chuckled. 

"you're... welcome?" he responded. annabeth pulled out of the hug and looked down at her feet.

"i was just... really worried."

percy took her hand, walking her down the dock. the sun was setting behind them. "i know you were." he walked her all the way to the athena cabin, never letting go of her hand. they stopped at the bottom of the steps and he looked annabeth. "i'll see you in the morning?" he said quietly.

she nodded, before wrapping her arms around him once more for a quick hug, ignoring the people around pretending not to look at them. "yeah." she pulled back from the hug. "goodnight seaweed brain," she said with a small smile.

"goodnight, wise girl."


End file.
